Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Devil Ain't Far

"It’s a very human reaction, in the face of such vile and hateful behavior and speech, to insist that the culprit is fundamentally different from — less than — "normal" human beings, like us. "We" could never do such things, believe in such evil madness, speak such despicable words.

But that’s not true. It’s a big lie. Given the "right" environment, the "right" experiences, the "right" frustrations and disappointments, the "right" programming and encouragement, virtually all humans are capable of atrocities such as Roof perpetrated.

We could all be Dylan Roof.

Hell, people only have to be told that they are heroes protecting the world from one sort of evil or another and they willingly napalm villages in Southeast Asia or blow up wedding parties with Hellfire missiles from air-conditioned easy chairs thousands of miles away.

If you’ve reached whatever age and place in life you’re at now without becoming "one of them," you’re not special or different; you’re just lucky."